


Shadow to the Sun

by Deaths_Adder



Category: Naruto
Genre: BAMF Nara Shikamaru, BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, F/M, Gen, Genderfluid Uzumaki Naruto, M/M, Multi, Not Canon Compliant, Smart Uzumaki Naruto, Yandere Nara Shikamaru
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:34:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 15,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27760840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deaths_Adder/pseuds/Deaths_Adder
Summary: I am not really sure how to give a summary yet for this one...any suggestions?._________________________________________________________________It wasn't just the fact that Naruto wanted to be treated neutrally by the villagers that made him use the mask of ‘Fool’, it was also that he knew that deception was a large part of being a Ninja, and well being a ninja was what he was expected to be.Nara Shikamaru was confused, he did not like being confused, in his mind it was a weakness to not understand something.
Relationships: Nara Shikamaru/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 64
Kudos: 541
Collections: Naruto Fanfics





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So this wouldn't leave me alone, I needed to start it but I know this one will be really slow on updates, I have issues writing Shikamaru. 
> 
> So, I'm sorry but like I said I just needed to start it, and I figured out why not just post it and see if anyone even is interested. 
> 
> And with like Rewind I wont be posting the next chapters until I have the next half written, so you will have to wait longer for updates. 
> 
> Someone please give me a better Summery and Title!!!!!

Uzumaki Naruto felt eyes on his back, that wasn’t really all that unusual, but the fact that it wasn’t a malicious stare was new. 

He knew he was loud, and down right annoying to most people, but most of that was just a mask he used to hide himself, he knew humans were unreasonable and that they were scared of the Kyūbi no Kitsune within him, so he made himself ‘harmless’. 

It wasn't just the fact that he wanted to be treated neutrally by the villagers that made him use the mask of ‘Fool’, it was also that he knew that deception was a large part of being a Ninja, and well being a ninja was what he was expected to be. 

His yelling about being Hokage was all fake, he didn't actually care for the title, but he just needed to have people see him in some way. Having a presence even if it's just ‘Oh look, it’s the orange nuisance’ he couldn't be taken and put in some sort of cage by the blank people around the village. 

He wasn’t stupid, maybe a little oblivious especially with human interactions, but he was smart enough to know that the blank people were some sort of shadow organisation, that they were not to be trusted, and well Naruto didn't trust people until he had the chance to observe them through many interactions as himself or herself, or well any of the personas he used. 

Shaking his head, Naruto went back to the watcher he felt, he was in a training ground working on his chakra control, working through the stretches he uses to keep himself flexible as any contortionist as he stuck to the underside of a thick branch.

It was one of the days he was more of a male than his usual gender neutral way of thinking, so he was in a pair of black ANBU style pants and a black muscle shirt, his blonde hair was short and a spiky mess that he had no way to control. He showed more of his developing body than he usually did in the hideous jumpsuit he usually donned, but he didn't really care, whoever was watching him was just curious, nothing else showed in their emotions.

Ignoring the watcher he bent backwards slowly walking he hands between his legs, bending his spine in an improbable fold, keeping his breathing steady and even. He was sure that the watcher would eventually lose interest in him and leave soon so he just blocked them out and focused on his breathing and the slight burn of his stretching muscles. 

\--------------------------------------------------

Nara Shikamaru was confused, he did not like being confused, in his mind it was a weakness to not understand something, that was mostly because he had the highest chakra levels and IQ that had been seen in the Nara clan since the warring clans era. 

With his IQ being as high as it was, he tended to show some of the worst Nara traits, his laziness was one of the best examples, but it also meant that he was pretty arrogant. The large chakra reserves didn't really do much on its own, just made him a little more lasting than some Nara. 

It was when you mixed the large chakra pools with his IQ that things got messy, most Nara developed a minor fixation on things that stimulated their brains; games, puzzles, riddles, things like that. 

It was in the archives that it was found that the more powerful the Nara the more hyper focused they became on their fixation, and it could become dangerous to people around them if said Nara thought the person or people were a threat to their fixation. 

One book had told of a past Nara who had fixated on a doe within the herd of deer, an Inuzuka ninken had injured the doe when it was trying to return the animal to the forest and the Nara had lost it, he killed the ninken and the Inuzuka before he attacked the whole Inuzuka clan, injuring many of the ninken before he was killed by the Nara clan head. 

Shikamaru knew that his father was kind of worried about what he would fixate on, and that he would just up and go nuts, but he was pretty sure that he wouldn't actually kill a fellow ninja; mame them horribly sure, but not kill. 

The other thing that Sukaku worried about in his son was that his fixation hadn't developed yet, and he was in the last year at the academy; most Nara would have their fixation by the time they were toddlers and had already developed a stable way of dealing with it by the time they had their Hitai-ate, but with Shikamaru it looked like he was going to have to pull in favors and a lot of strings to get his son the stability he would need when his fixation finally showed. 

It was Shikamaru's confusion at his blonde classmate that would develop into his fixation, and it was something that would change the lives of everyone around them. 

In no way was the shinobi world prepared for the future with Nara Shikamaru becoming the shadow to the sun Uzumaki Naruto. 

  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, I warn you the next few chapters are just....setting the story, not much really goes on, but I feel like I need a full set up before I can really start letting my idea of Shikamaru and Naruto show, there isn't going to be an awful lot that will fit cannon, buuuuut I don't really remember canon...so there's that.
> 
> please enjoy and let me know what you think.

Shikamaru watched Naruto the next week in class carefully, he had sat at his desk slumped over with his head on his crossed arms pretending to sleep, as was the norm for him. 

  
  


He had started to pick up on the way that Naruto's eyes would flash with a cunning intelligence before he would do something that most would call him an idiot for or the way he would subtly shift his stance from something strong to something that would allow him to fall without too much pain, either from the hit he received or from his landing. 

  
  


He didn't really understand why the other boy was allowing himself to be seen as weak and stupid, and he hated it, hated the way the other children in their class spoke about him and to him, hated how the boy just didn't make sense. 

  
  


It took five days of observing Naruto for him to come to a half baked conclusion that had absolutely nothing to do with figuring out the other's real personality . Naruto was meant for infiltration, he had hardly any tell for when he lied and he had been able to make people he saw everyday believe that this loud obnoxious personality was real. 

  
  


After that week Shikamaru decided that he wanted to speak to the blonde, the real blonde, and see if he could figure out why the other pretended to be someone else. 

  
  


The next Saturday he headed to the same training ground that he had seen Naruto at the week before, his pace was faster than his normal stroll. He wondered if maybe once he had an answer if he would lose interest in the other. 

  
  


When he reached the edge of the ground where there was a small cluster of bushes he sat to watch for a while. It had taken him seventy-two seconds after spotting the blonde to register that he was dressed in a pair of light blue shorts that didn't even reach mid thigh and a white halter top that bared his stomach. 

  
  


The sight added more questions to the hundreds that already plagued Shikamaru's mind. He just stared at Naruto like an idiot, not knowing how to approach the other, especially now that he was dumbfounded about the wardrobe change.

  
  


"Troublesome." He muttered under his breath, not expecting Naruto to have heard him and spin in his direction. 

  
  


Ducking just in time for the kunai that Naruto hurled at him to miss lodging itself in his eye. 

  
  


"Oi!" He yelped and threw his hands in the air in the universal sign of surrender, he crawled out of the bush to meet blue eyes spitting fire in a furious glare. 

  
  


“What are you, some kind of stalker?” Naruto asked him, cheeks dusted with pink. 

  
  


“No, I just want to understand.” Shikamaru said blandly, his hands still up in surrender. 

  
  


“Well understand somewhere else!” Naruto snapped at him, spinning on the ball of his foot and releasing the kunai that he had in between each finger. 

  
  


Shikamaru didn't bother answering him, just dropped back onto the ground, he couldn't understand away from the blonde, the blonde was the only one who could give him answers. He sat there just observing the blonde as he went through throwing practice, and stretching, Shikamaru was at a complete loss as he watched Naruto bend and twist himself into knots. 

  
  


"What do you want?" Naruto snapped at him after an unknown amount of time. 

  
  


"Troublesome, why do you pretend to be stupid?" Shikamaru countered the question with his own. 

  
  


Shikamaru watched the blonde's body language carefully, and was barely able to catch the aborted twitch of his hand. 

  
  


A deep growl started to rumble through the training ground, it sounded far too feral to come from a human causing Shikamaru to take his attention off Naruto to look around the area for a wild animal that possibly escaped from training ground forty-four. When he found nothing and turned back to his unwilling company he was torn between being shocked that he missed the other leaving and pissed off that he was being run from. 

\---------------------------------------------------------

  
  


The next day Shikamaru was at the training ground again, but this time there was no evidence of Naruto being there since he had run the day before. Shikamaru snarled as he kicked one of the trees that lined the border of the grounds. 

  
  


He wanted to speak to the blonde, wanted to understand who he really was under the mask of dead last, but most of all he  _ needed _ to be in the blondes presence. 

  
  


Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Shikamaru stomped out of the empty area mentally preparing himself to hunt down his prey. 

  
  


Hours later Shikamaru was half slumped over on a bench near the academy tired and very grumpy that he had not found  _ his _ blonde, groaning he realized that he would have to take up learning tracking if he planned to be able to play the cat and mouse game Naruto seemed to be fond of. 

  
  


The thought of being able to find Naruto whenever he wanted to, sent a shiver of anticipatory pleasure down his spine, he took a moment to access the feeling and find the meaning, he found himself a little surprised thinking that when he captured his prey it would be worth the effort put into the chase. 

  
  


He Had kept up his hunt until it started to get dark out, giving it up as a bad job he started on his path to the compound, grumbling and hissing under his breath. When his father greeted him at the door he looked mildly alarmed, not the Shikamaru noticed the wrinkle forming in between his eyebrows. 

  
  


“Shikamaru, what's wrong?” he asked, voice filling with authority that he would need to enforce if his son decided to be evasive. 

  
  


Looking up at his father Shikamaru sneered his eyes flashing in anger. “He avoided me, I couldn't find him all day. I don't get it. What did I do wrong? How can he hide so well?” his voice was frustrated with a sharp edge of anger. 

  
  


Shikaku watched his son closely, he wasn't entirely sure what was going on but he felt like it was important. 

  
  


"Who is avoiding you Shikamaru?" He asked carefully, his son was acting rather erratic. 

  
  


Shikamaru huffed, glaring at his father. "Uzumaki Naruto." His answer was clipped and filled with longing and frustration. 

  
  


Shikamaru watched his dad flinch, he catalogued it for later review, his eyes kept his fathers as if daring him to say something. He didn't understand his own reactions to the blonde avoiding him, just knew that he didn't like it and it had to stop. 

  
  


Shikaku averted his gaze after a few moments, he was internally panicking. His child was either fixating on a human of all things, or he was losing himself early to the pressure of the Nara intelligence. He prayed it was the fixation, that at least he could warn others about. 

  
  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And off we go, 
> 
> still working on building the world, buuut it's slow going.
> 
> Wish me luck and try to enjoy.

Naruto, or Naruko as she preferred to call herself when she felt like a female, had been practicing her kunai throwing when her sensitive hearing picked up someone entering the training ground, it was the same person that had watched her practice the week before by their scent. 

  
  


She did her best to ignore them, but the mutter of 'troublesome' made her flinch and throw one of the kunai that she had held between her fingers at a bush behind her making her flush, mostly in anger at herself for automatically deeming the person a non-threat. 

  
  


When a male voice shouted ‘Oi’ and hands of someone her age or maybe older stuck out of the top of the bush in the sign of surrender she wanted to scoff. 

  
  


“What are you, some kind of stalker?” Naruko asked him, she felt her cheeks heat, and it just made her angrier. 

  
  


“No, I just want to understand.” The boy told her, voice bland, his hands still up in surrender.

  
  


Naruko finally recognized him as Nara Shikamaru, she just got more frustrated, she should have known his scent, they were in class together, but maybe because he was always almost glued to Akimichi Choji’s hip all the time their scents had blurred together enough that she missed that they were two different base familial scents along with their own personal ones, she had a kind of acquaintance with him, they had often skipped class with the Inuzuka and Akimichi heirs in the same class. She didn’t really know the boy as when she was in public she needed to keep up the act of being stupid, and the Nara was smart, possibly smart enough to figure out her acting before she was ready for anyone to know. 

  
  


“Well understand somewhere else!” Naruto snapped at him, spinning on the ball of his foot and releasing the rest of the kunai that she had in between each finger. 

  
  


When the boy didn’t leave Naruko just got more frustrated, she switched from her kunai throwing to shuriken throwing practice, she was proficient at throwing both of the ‘normal’ weapons, so it was more just to up her level and reach mastery. Next she went through practicing throwing senbon, it was a weapon she was still trying to get used to, they were much more difficult to master, with the fact that they were much smaller and lighter than both kunai and shuriken. 

  
  


Having finished her throwing practice, she glanced at the boy out of the corner of her eye, he had been sitting there quietly just watching her, it was annoying but she could ignore him, or well she just tried to push his presence out of her mind. It was when she started working on her flexibility that she got really annoyed, his eyes were practically burning her skin with how hard he was focused on her.

  
  


Pissed off enough she finally snapped. "What do you want?"

  
  


"Troublesome, why do you pretend to be stupid?" Shikamaru asked her, and the schock she felt at the question just made her even angrier.

  
  


With and aborted twitch of her hand going for a weapon she let the growl that had building in her chest loose, it made the Nara jerk and look around the training ground, she saw the alarm in his eyes, but with them off of her she sprinted to the closest tree and launched herself up into the branches, hiding from him but still watching him. She noticed the mild annoyance pass across his face once he registered she was no longer in the clearing. 

  
  


Carefully she stalked the boy back to his clan compound, the Nara, Inuzuka, Akimichi, Aburame, and Yamanaka were the only clans that had never really hurt her in some form of retaliation from the Kyūbi incident, it seemed they were the only humans around that understand she wasn’t her tennant, but it was still a mystery as to why a clan member was so interested in her. 

\---------------------------------------------------------

  
  


The next day when Naruto caught the scent of Shikamaru coming into the training ground he launched himself back up into the trees, he wanted to know what the genius would do. When the other boy broke through the tree line and snarled like a wild wolf Naruto was surprised, usually the only ones who had animal characteristics were the Aburame and Inuzuka clans. Slightly confused Naruto decided he was going to follow the Nara for the day as stealth training to see what the other would do. 

  
  


The first place Naruto followed Shikamaru to was Ichiraku ramen, he was slightly surprised to see the boy go there first. He didn't think anyone really listened to him when he spoke about the tiny little restaurant. The next stop had been the park, then the Hokage monument, the Library, back to Ichiraku ramen, and finally the academy.

  
  


After many hours Naruto watched as Shikamaru slump on a bench back by the academy again, observing the other he noticed that his expression never really changed from looking bored, it was his eyes that gave away his thoughts, they would darken each time he didn't find whatever he was looking for at his destination, then they would kind of glaze before they would light again with another idea, but as he sat on the bench something else was there in his eye but Naruto couldn't place it. 

  
  


When the Nara started to make his way to his clan compound Naruto figured that his self given mission was done, and headed back to his apartment. 

  
  


Arriving back home Naruto toed off his shoes and looked around his apartment, it was small, the living room and his bedroom were one in the same, there was just a small half height wall that divided the kitchen from the rest of the room, he only thanked the Kyūbi that the bathroom was a completely different room, it was almost the same size as the living room, and had a bathtub that also doubled as where he would wash his laundry. 

  
  


Naruto dropped on the futon that was laid out by the far wall, and sighed as a small orange fox jumped into his lap from where it had just uncurled itself from the far side of the futon .

  
  


“Hey Kurama, How was your day?” He asked his fluffy friend, the only person other than him that knew the Kurama had a physical form was the Hokage, granted it was actually fox shaped fully, much unlike it’s normal form, that was fox like with human arms and hands. 

  
  


**“Napped all day.”** the Bijū told him bluntly, its ears twitching as it laid across his lap. 

  
  


Naruto snorted at his Bijū and absently scratched behind its ears, Kurama was neither gender, much like himself, the Bijū switched back and forth often, sometimes its own gender reflecting Naruto's own, usually the Bijū switched the color of the tips of its ears to reflect what gender it was just like he would change his name subtly, white for female, black for male, and red for both or neither, todays ear fur was a deep blood red almost clashing with the orange of its fur. 

  
  


The Kyūbi no Kitsune knew something was on their kit’s mind, but knew better than to press, the kit was guarded even with them. The poor child had been hurt and abused by every human adult in his life, it was a wonder that he would let anyone in his life, but somehow the Bijū had wormed its way into the kit’s heart just as he had theirs and the kitsune was still amazed by that fact. 

  
  


The two had met early on in Naruto’s life, it hadn't been a beating from the flesh-bags, but simply from hunger and exghaustion that had made the kit pass out, he had ended up outside of the kitsune’s cage, confused and wry. Kurama couldn't blame the kid, from what they had seen of the then toddlers life through his memories, it had been hard, the kid couldn't read, write or talk. 

  
  


Kurama had taken it upon their own shoulders to raise the child that showed him no fear, once the child could talk properly he had bombarded the Bijū with questions, questions that he had never been asked before, and questions that no other human would answer, his heritage, why Kurama was there, what his own name was, why other humans hated him, how could he get food, was there anything that Naruto could do to make the Bijū comfortable, it had gone on and on, overwhelming the great Kyūbi no Kitsune to the point that they had kicked the kid out of his own mind. 

  
  


But here they were eight years later, the human kit and the Bijū together, now if only their kit would scratch the itch along its snout and in between its eyes. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh sorry folks....I was reading it again and I noticed a bunch of errors...and fixed them.....also changed some wording, and assed some stuff.....soooooooo yea...
> 
> Buh-bye!!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And here we are... 
> 
> enjoy!!

' **Wake up Fleshy** .' Kurama spoke into Naru’s mind, waking them instantly.

  
  


Even before they opened their eyes or gave any indication they were awake they sent out a short pulse of chakra into the air to make sure they were alone, it had become instinct for them to check out their surroundings even if the attacks had started to decline over the years when they had stopped reacting to the torture, only the most sadistic would attack them now that they didn't scream, flinch, or even change their facial expressions. 

  
  


With the all clear from their chakra pulse Naru sat up, they could tell today was going to be an odd day, they were having a gender neutral day, that in itself wasn't odd, but they could feel something buzzing in the trees and air itself. With a quick single shoulder shrug Naru kicked their legs over the edge of the bed to get ready for their day in class, even though they had no want to wear the damnable target practice orange jumpsuit they couldn't deviate from the mask of their everyday. 

  
  


Their body had already reacted to their change in their mind regarding their gender and had subtly changed their sex organs, their cock had shrunk from the size that it was when they were male into what some people would call a cocklet, their scrotum had all but disappeared into their body, and they had female sexual organs, but no budding breasts that most would assume to see on a developing pre teen. Their hair was always the same sunny yellow, the same length, but the difference was so minimal that most didn't notice that when male their hair was a birds nest of spikes, neutral their hair was more inclined to act like the Uchiha’s and just have clumped spikes, and when female it was more smooth almost to the point that if it had just a little more length it would lay flat. 

  
  


Completing their normal morning routine Naru headed out for school, they squinted their eyes, that was the first thing making today odd then, they were on time for leaving for class. Wondering what was next they just did a single shoulder shrug again and left their apartment, locking the door and setting their traps. 

  
  


On the way to the school Naru and Kurama talked to one another, it wasn't anything that was new, Naru knew that Kurama was their best friend, sibling, parent, and all around only living thing they trusted with their whole safety, the two were trying to figure out the best way for them to introduce themselves into the shared meeting area that the Jinchūriki and Bijū could go to, it looked exactly like the clearing that the Sage of Six Paths had created the Bijū. The Bijū felt when one of them entered the clearing and had the choice of going alone or bringing their host’s with them. Kurama hardly ever went to the meeting place, hardly feeling like listening to the Bijū bitch about their Jinchūriki. 

  
  


Arriving at the school Naru cast a wry look around the area before slipping into the building and making their way quietly down the halls to their class, and just as quietly they dropped themselves in their usual seat at the back of the class by the window. Slouching they waited, they knew that they still had time and decided to close their eyes and just be until it was time for lessons to begin, not they they paid any attention to what Iruka-sensei taught, they knew it already, so they would learn from Kurama, most of it was sealing theory now. 

  
  


The chair next to them scraped on the floor irritating their ears making Naru give a side glare that only intensified when they spotted Shikamaru dropping himself in the seat, the other was deviating from his usual, and that in itself just added another odd thing that nature had warned them about. 

  
  


“So Naruto, are you going to answer my question from Saturday?” The boy asked. 

  
  


Naru gave a vacant expression, before asking. “Wha?” 

  
  


Naru watched as a deeply irritated expression crossed Shikamaru’s face, they honestly weren't worried, they didn't think that the shadow user could physically harm them, he had no muscle definition, and with his laziness they were honestly surprised most days that the boy had enough muscle to actually move. 

  
  


Shikamaru glared at Naru, “Honestly, I’m not stupid Naruto, I want to know why you pretend that you are.” He asked, and it looked almost like he was pained by not having an answer. 

  
  


Naru huffed and rolled their eyes before answering. “Ask your father, ask him who I am and what I am. Tell him I said to break an S-class secret, and even the SS-class secret to appease his son's curiosity.” Naru knew that their tone of voice was cold, almost hostel, but they didn't care, they didn't like that this boy wasn't minding his own. 

  
  


Turning away from the boy, Naru ignored him, shutting out the boy to the point that the other may as well have not been there. 

\--------------------------------------------------

Class was blessedly normal for Naru after they blocked out Shikamaru, even though they knew that something would still happen to make the day weird. 

They let their eyes glaze over and turned ninety percent of their attention inwards, learning specific kinds of seals that they could ink into their skin, they had wanted a way to keep all of their important items on them, with the was the average people of the village treated them, they had learned to hide the special things in training ground forty-four, it would be nice to always have them on their person where there was no chance of them being damaged. 

  
  


Naru and Kurama had a seal planned out in their mindscape by the end of school, Kurama had all the knowledge on seals and the Bijū preferred to challenge Naru into reverse engineering what Kurama showed them and then make it again, and make it better. 

  
  


Naru left the school building their lips curved in a wide smile that never bared their teeth, they understood that the ninja clans that had an issue with them would take their teeth on display as some sort of threat, even with the mask of being a complete idiot. 

  
  


Naru felt eyes on their back as they skipped and hopped down the road seeming to not pay any attention to anything around them even as they dodged the few items some were throwing. They caught sight of a man that looked like a Nara, the odd way that all the men in that clan styled their hair up into a spiky ponytail, depending on the height and angle that some put it at it almost made them look like they had pineapples as heads, this specific man had the same facial structure as Shikamaru, Naru assumed the man was Shikamaru’s father. The most distinguishing feature of the man was the two scars he had on the right side of his face, one over his eyebrow and the other across his cheekbone. 

Naru catalogued the fact the man was watching so intently, he never had before, the Nara kind of avoided them, never antagonistic but never helpful, just there. 

‘ **He was a friend of your fathers, I never understood why their friends never interacted with you, especially the masked one.’** Kurama informed them, the two never really spoke about their parents after the first conversation they had had about the two. 

‘Probably too afraid to be seen with the ‘monster’.’ Naru thought back, honestly they didn't really care. 

Kurama huffed back at them, ‘ **The flesh bags are the monsters.’**

  
  


Naru nodded their head absently humming in agreement, but let the very short conversation drop, they wanted to go to the forest of death, training ground forty-four and work on the Katon jutsu that they had watched the Hokage’s son Sarutobi Asuma incorporate with one of his Fuuton jutsu. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhhhh so I had a smack down in my brain of another Naruto fic, but I was wondering if I even bothered to post it would any of you read it?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter five, I feel like I'm progressing a little fast, but I don't know how to slow them down....they kind of have a life of their own...
> 
> Thank you to those that have been pointing out my mistakes, please continue to do so, I have no Beta and I can only read the chapter so many times before it all starts to look the same.

Shikaku had decided to pick his son up from the academy, he didn't know why but there was a voice in the back of his head that sounded a lot like Minato yelling at him that he needed to run interference between Shikamaru and Naruto. He watched as the preteens all spilled out the the door until he say sunshine yellow hair split off from the crowd, he watch the kid as he walked away from all of the others without even offering one of them a parting, he wondered if the kid had any friends, or hell anyone who would even talk to him like he was an a human with thoughts and feelings. 

“Shikamaru!” he called commandingly when he saw his son turn to follow the Uzumaki. 

The death glare his son sent him was amusing and terrifying, the evidence that he had gathered in the few minutes he was around his son in the last two days were pointing very much towards Shiklamaru fixating on the Uzumaki, and well, Shikaku was mildly terrified to see what his kid would do once it settled. 

When Shikamaru was within arms reach he grabbed his sons shoulder to make sure the boy didn't go off to stalk the Uzumaki, they really needed to talk about this, and maybe he would need to have a clan meeting to come up with a few million contingency plans for when things started to go down hill. 

“Home, we gotta talk.” He ordered. 

Shikamaru's glare gained a sharper edge to it, “Oh how right you are Tou-san.” his voice held an edge of insanity that worried Shikaku, but he brushed it off, completely ignoring the warning blaring in the back of his mind. 

\--------------------------------------------------

When Shikamaru’s father had stopped him from following Naruto all he wanted to do was dig out a kunai from his father’s thigh pouch and stab him repeatedly, but he knew he couldn't do so or they would keep him away from Naruto, and that was something he didn't want. So on his slow march home he tried to organize his thoughts, trying to decide how much he was willing to push his father to tell him what he needed to know. After all Naruto had all but ordered him to ask his dad, and he would get the answers. 

One home Shikamaru toed off his sandals and headed for his fathers office, this was a serious discussion and he absolutely refused to allow anyone to overhear what was going to be said. 

Shikamaru didn't even give his father a chance to open his mouth before he started firing questions at him. "Who is Uzumaki Naruto? What is he? Who were his parents? Why would he dress like a girl? Why does everyone hate him? Why would he have to pretend to be stupid?" 

He watched his fathers face pale a little, it looked like he was afraid, but that really couldn't be it. 

"Shikamaru," Shikaku sighed his name. "That's a secret, one I could be put to death for answering." 

"Naruto told me to ask you." Shikamaru snapped, he wanted fucking answers. 

Watching as his fathers eyes widened and he pinched his nose Shikamaru was pretty sure that he was going to get some answers. Taking in a deep breath his father met his eyes. 

"Ask your questions one at a time, let me answer before you ask the next." Shikaku told his son. 

"Who is Uzumaki Naruto?" Shikamaru started. 

"He is a citizen of Konoha." 

"What is he?"

"A Jinchūriki." 

"Who were his parents?" 

"Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kashiuna." 

"Why would he dress like a girl?"

"I can't actually answer that."

"Why does everyone hate him?" 

"Because he is a Jinchūriki." 

"Why would he have to pretend to be stupid?" 

"Because he is a Jinchūriki." The questions and answers were rapid fire, Shikamaru slightly miffed that his father wasn't giving him detailed answers. 

"What is a Jinchūriki?" This question made a pained expression cross his fathers face, and he took a little longer to think over the question. 

"A Jinchūriki, a human sacrifice. They have one of the nine tailed chakra Biju sealed within them. They are the defense against the wrath of their anger. Jinchūriki are the scapegoats of every hidden village. Uzumaki Naruto is the cage of the Kyuubi."

Shikamaru was stunned, and very very angry. Not even looking his father in the eyes he stood and stormed his way out of the office, out of the house, and into the forest around him, he hoped he would be able to work off a little of the aggression he was feeling, if not he hoped that the deer would be able to offer him comfort. He had no idea how he was to assimilate the answers he had been given. He felt that the people of the village were the monsters, Naruto had never shown any kind of aggression towards any of them, hell he tended to avoid most people who lived in Konoha. 

Shikamaru stomped his way up to an old tree, its thick trunk would be the target for his anger. Without really thinking of the damage he would be doing Shikamaru started to throw punch after punch at the tree. As he worked out he thought, letting his mind wander. 

‘Naruto is the Jinchūriki to the Kyūbi no Kitsune, Naruto was hated for something that he had no control over, Naruto’s own father sealed the Kyūbi into him and left him to be treated worse than dirt, he had to pretend to be less than he was so he wasn't attacked, but he was probably attacked anyway.’ 

Shikamaru hated the people of the village, he would take up the position as Naruto’s protector, he would fight back for the blonde, he would take revenge, the blonde was  _ his.  _

Hours later Shikamaru reentered the house and headed back to his fathers office, he knew that their conversation from before was far from finished, but he had needed to depressurize, he had known that if he didn't leave the office in that exact moment he might have attacked his father, and that would have only ended up badly. 

Retaking his seat in front of the desk Shikamaru cleared his throat to catch his fathers attention again. 

“You said we needed to talk, I assume you had something you wanted to say to me?” He opened the conversation again. 

“Mmm, Yes. we need to talk about the fact that you have developed your fixation.” Shikaku said, he held Shikamaru’s gaze, showing his worry and frustration. 

“It’s Naruto isn't it?” Shikamaru asked his voice flat. 

“I’m afraid it is, what would you like me to do to help you?” 

Shikamaru closed his eyes and tipped his head to the side in thought. “I need you to explain to the Yamanaka that I will no longer tolerate how their heir treats Naruto, I need you to make sure I end up on his team so I can protect him, I need more training so I can track him,I need you and Ka-san to be okay with me bringing him here, and I need your support.” he confessed, tired already at just the thought of how troublesome this was going to be. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh, so the other Naruto story i have chewing on my brain is kinda odd, 
> 
> I've tossed canon out the window, and pretty much just curb stomped it.  
> It's time travel, and I am having issues with picking what era Naruto will go back to. 
> 
> Options for pairing are, 
> 
> Shisui 3  
> Kakashi  
> Minato 1 (like I said curb stomped canon and he wont be Naruto's father)  
> Tobirama 2  
> Madara 2 
> 
> If you want throw me your opinion, I only have the first chapter down and the next two kind of sketched out, but the era my Female Naruto ends up in needs to be chosen pretty quickly sadly or I wont be able to write it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, I have a bunch of chapters for Rewind so I've been focusing on Shadow to the Sun and Starting Fox-Five-Four-Six. 
> 
> If you are a reader of Rewind the next chapter will be going up on the twenty-third, I've decided that I will post them a day early, just cause I will be spending the twenty-fifth with my partner, but after the twenty-fifth all bets are off and things will be updated as per my normal of when ever i have the next chapter half way finished. 
> 
> please enjoy!!!

Tuesday started like any other Tuesday for Naru, their gender hadn’t changed for them so far, the alarm clock went off at exactly seven, the shower was back to only supplying cold water, the electricity stopped working, the only thing working was the tiny gas burner they had as a backup for when the power was cut. All the little things happening were normal, it was what made them late to class most days. 

Naru had different plans though, they would not walk the streets like usual, they were feeling exceptionally prickly today, between not getting restful sleep and something having shifted yesterday, they didn't know what it was, they didn't want to know what it was, but with how much the world around them seemed to be vibrating with anticipation they figured it would have something to do with them, so Naru took to a higher path and roof jumped his way to the academy. 

Reaching their class just minutes after their arrival the day before they took the same seat in the back row right next to the window, but today they buried their face in their crossed arms, not really wanting to deal with human interaction yet, they didn't even really feel up to conversing with Kurama. 

Naru’s peace was soon disturebed, the chair next to them was pulled out from under the desk, it dragged on the floor and produced a high pitched scratching sound. Naru turned their head and glared at Shikamaru who dropped himself in the chair. 

“So I asked my Tou-san like you told me to, I know everything now, well except why you were dressed like a girl.” Shikamaru murmured quietly. 

Naru glared a little harder at the boy, they didn't expect for the Nara clan head to tell him anything, but they guessed that humans can be unpredictable in the oddest of ways. 

“Please, I just need to talk to you about something important Naruto.”Shikamaru implored, his eyes begging for Naru to accept. 

Huffing Naru nodded their head the best they could from it’s cradle of their arms, then turned their head back and buried their face again, cutting off any chance of conversation for the time being. 

At the end of class Naru waited for Shikamaru to lead him to wherever it was the boy decided it would be safe to talk, they kept their guard up not really trusting the Nara to not have set up some sort of elaborate trap. 

Naru would admit to themselves that they were extremely surprised at being led to the Nara clan compound, still on guard for an attack Naru followed the boy into the main house, toed off their sandals, and was led into the clan heads office. With their eyebrows raised in question, Naru kept their face blank of other emotions and waited for one of the shadow users to speak. 

"Uzumaki-kun, Shikamaru has asked you here today to talk about an open secret of the Nara clan. He felt that you would accept it as truth coming from me instead of him, as well as the opportunity to read over some journals that we have on the subject." The older Nara explained. 

"Please continue Nara-sama." Naru urged the man. 

Naru felt Shikamaru tense beside them as the older male took a moment to assess them. 

"The Nara as a whole have something we call the fixation, you know what that word means yes?" Naru glared at the man in response. 

"Right, so, the Nara fixation." Shikaku hedged, Naru could tell that the clan head really didn't want to be having this conversation and flicked their attention over to Shikamaru. 

"Shikamaru, tell me what you needed, no offence to your father but he is wasting my training time." Naru cut the elder Nara off, they were tired and wanted to find a nice patch of sun to fall asleep in.

Shikamaru jumped beside them and started speaking, his voice strained almost like he was half ashamed to say what was going on but also feared Naru’s reaction. 

"The Nara fixation is almost exactly as it sounds, all Nara have something or someone that they will claim as theirs, having a living fixation is almost unheard of, there have been instances in the past of Nara fixating on animals but never a human." 

Naru nodded to show that they understood.

"The more intelligent, and the higher chakra reserves the Nara has the more intense their fixation is, I am unlucky enough that both my intelligence and chakra are the highest the clan has ever seen, it means that my fixation can take over my life and I will lose myself if its not monitored until it settles." Shikamaru paused, his eyes were searching Naru's face for something.

"This is troublesome, it would seem Naruto, that you are my fixation." Shikamaru finally spat out in a rush. 

Naru blinked at Shikamaru, they didn't know what to say, honestly with Kurama's emotional sensing they could feel that they were being told the truth. It was kind of hard to process, they blinked again, their face blank. 

“You mean to tell me what exactly? That you think I belong to you?” Naru asked, voice completely void of emotions. 

Shikamaru was shaking his head violently, his eyes were closed and his ponytail was doing an amusing sway back and forth, it didn’t behave like normal hair, it caught Naru’s attention with how it started in its perfect spike shape but only seemed to bend at where the elastic sat.

“No!” Shikamaru exclaimed when he finally stopped shaking his head, eyes a little unfocused. 

“Then explain it better.” Naru growled, the minor amusement they felt from Shikamaru’s ponytail evaporating. 

“Ahhhh, well, so far I only want to know you, understand you, and protect you. In the future I may want to make you family, or you will be my best friend, but I will still want the same things I do now.” Shikamaru tried to explain, but he paused for a moment thinking over if he should add a warning. 

“I’ll also probably be a little violent to others who hurt you with malicious intent, until the fixation settles it’s possible that I can go a little off the rails and attack people who hurt you. I will never hurt you though, I honestly feel physically sick thinking about hurting you.” 

Naru watched Shikamaru carefully, trying to pick apart the words, but not finding a lie in them, honestly they needed some sleep and to talk with Kurama about this. 

“Alright, I kind of understand, it’s a lot to take in, can we come back to this at a later date?” Naru almost pleaded with the Nara. 

They didn't bother waiting to be dismissed, they just stood and walked quick enough to be categorized as a jog to the front door, they simply scooped up their sandals, opened the door and ran for training ground forty-four. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out Fox-Five-Four-Eight...I hoped you like it. 
> 
> So far Shisui is in the lead for the second part of the pair.


	7. Chapter 7

The door slamming echoed through the house and through Shikamaru's heart, it sounded final, it sounded like abandonment. 

Biting back a sob as best he could Shikamaru closed his eyes and tried to breathe evenly. 

"Shikamaru…" His dad hesitantly called his name. 

All he could do was grunt in acknowledgement, if he opened his mouth the sob would break through, and following the sob would be dozens more along with tears. 

"Just because Naruto left, it doesn't mean he wants nothing to do with you." The elder Nara tried to comfort his distressed child. 

Shikamaru nodded, breathed in counting to four, held the breath counting to four, and breathed out counting to four, and held it again with his lungs empty to the count of four, he repeated this three times to finish his square breathing exercises. 

"He said he was tired, its a lot to take in, Naruto isn't stupid, he will do as he said and come talk when he has analyzed what we told him." Shikamaru told Shikaku, both to reassure his father and convince himself. 

Finally back in control of his emotions Shikamaru slumped in on himself, he was tired, all the worry and stress were eating up his small amount of energy, but he knew he would need to push past how tired he felt and start working on his stamina, he would need to be able to keep up with Naruto's never ending energy. 

"Troublesome." He muttered. 

When he father started laughing at him all he did was glare, offended at the lack of sympathy. With a growl he threw one of the books stacked next to where he was sitting, his father dodged it as expected, but the release of some aggression felt too good to ignore. 

Standing with indignation in every line of his body Shikamaru stalked out of his fathers office accompanied by the sound of laughter. 

No matter how badly he wanted to head for his bed to get an early night, or how badly he wanted to head for the nearest field to cloud watch Shikamaru forced himself to head for the very small training ground that was behind the main house, usually it was only used to teach new clan techniques, but with Naruto being his fixation he figured he ought to get to work catching up physically. 

Shikamaru eyed the post that was off near the tree line, it was padded with layers of leather to help protect the skin of the hands but also to help build up calluses. He huffed, and quickly started making training schedules in his head before discarding the ones that would not benefit him in the best way. 

Groaning Shikamaru dropped onto the ground, all theoretical training schedules started with stretching, cardio, and weight training, and even more annoying to compensate for using energy and burning off a higher calorie count he would need to change his diet and actually eat more often. 

With another groan he started working on the basic stretches that he was taught as a young child to warm up his body, after finishing that he jogged five laps around the field, he collapsed on his front when done, panting for breath, he had never realized how not in shape he was for a shinobi. 

Rolling on his back Shikamaru decided that he would need a little break before he went through doing sit ups, pushups, pullups, squats, and finally stretching again to cool down all the muscles. He glared up at the sky, karma was paying him back for something in his past life, he knew this as clearly as he knew that the sky was blue, water was wet, and fire was hot. 

Break over he got back to his training, he knew eventually he would be able to up the number of repetitions, or possibly even join Naruto in training their bodies, that thought brought a smile to his face, it would be nice to be able to grow alongside the sunny blonde. 

Shikamaru lost himself in the burn of his workout, letting his mind blank, he didn't want to think right now, just just wanted to improve himself enough that he could stand at the very least beside Naruto. 

\------------------------

Shikamaru was twitchy and snappish by Friday, Naruto had not shown up to school since their talk on Tuesday and Shikamaru was trying really hard to give the other boy space, he understood logically that Naruto needed time to think over the changes that his fixation may cause, but he was having issues making himself believe that the blond didn't hate him and was avoiding him to make him break and lose his mind. 

The grasp that he usually had on his emotions was almost shot, he had snapped at Choji earlier about chewing too loud, he felt like absolute shit for doing so and had apologized right away. He was very happy that his friend was so understanding and had been warned in advance by both Shikamaru’s father and Choji’s father about the fixation and the boy was all too understanding of Shikamaru’s frayed nerves. 

Shikamaru was overjoyed to see his clan compound gates after school, almost to the point that he was ready to burst into tears, it wasn't until he had closed his door to his bedroom and was in the process of flopping down on his bed that he noticed a small piece of folded paper on one of his many pillows. His name was scrawled across it in what had to be the most beautiful calligraphy he had ever seen. Hesitantly he opened it and stared at the short message, it was only tomorrow's date along with the time of nine-o-clock, and signed with an ‘N’. 

Letting out a loud yelp of pure joy, Shikamaru rolled off his bed and headed his way to the training ground that had seen a vast increase of use in the last three days. 

He was hoping that Naruto would finally answer some of his questions, he knew that he didn't understand or know the other boy very well, but he was determined to.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Umm...I'm crazy excited for the next chapter...you can't have it yet. 
> 
> Buuuut you can have this one.
> 
> Enjoy!!!!!!

Naruko stood in the middle of training ground forty-three working her way through her stretching as was her usual on Saturday morning. The biggest difference for this Saturday was she was waiting for Shikamaru to arrive, she was nervous and still a little lost on what she should be feeling. Kurama and herself had talked long about what this could mean for them, and had come to many contradicting thoughts. 

She thought that this could be a chance at a family, lifelong companionship or it could be a ruse to hurt her. Kurama thought that it was either a ploy to control her or she could possibly earn a protector that would give his life for her own. The biggest issue was that they didn't have all the information and to get that information she would have to allow the boy in and let him get to know her, and she wasn't sure if that would be a good idea. 

Naruko looked up at the sky and noted that it was close to nine, the time she gave Shikamaru to meet her here. She swallowed past the lump in her throat, why had she set this up.

Naruko whipped around once she caught the mossy scent of the boy she was waiting on come from behind her, she watched him closely as he sauntered into the clearing, his hand deep in his pockets, slouched in such a way that made him look like it was taking all his energy just to stay on his feet. 

“Shikamaru.” She greeted him, her voice wavering a little halfway through his name.

“Naruto, good morning.” She flinched at the use of her male name, hoping to the Bijū that he didn't notice. 

She didn't say anything else, waiting to be bombarded with questions she dropped herself on her ass, legs in front of her and bent forward at the hip to bury her nose in her knees. Shikamaru dropped next to her, giving her a rather large amount of personal space, that pleased Naruka immensely, most wouldn't think about things like that, but growing up as she had she was in no way used to physical contact from humans other than strikes from sparing or getting the shit kicked out of her. 

“Why did you flinch when I called you ‘Naruto’?” he asked her as he mimicked her stretches as best he could. 

Naruko huffed, thinking a moment about how to explain. 

“My name as a boy is Naruto, as a girl it’s Naruko, and when I am neither my name is Naru.” she decided to just tell him in the most blunt was possible. “I’m Naruko today.”

She watched his body language carefully, she knew that a lot of people wouldn’t understand, it was the most basic way to explain her gender, she knew that he would have questions, and she would answer them, just only his questions with no extra information. 

She watched as the boy’s eyes clouded over a little, figuring that he was trying to pick the information over and look for a hidden meaning. 

“Is that why you are dressed in clothes geared more towards the female gender?” His question kind of surprised her.

She looked down at herself and took note of what she was actually wearing. She was in a short sleeveless kimono, the hem barely reaching her mid thigh, it was a light pastel orange with little black roses in different states of bloom, and a pair of shorts and only showed two inches of fabric from under where her kimono ended. 

Nodding at him she waited for the next question. 

“Other than the clothes is there a way I can tell what gender you are?” She blinked at him, these were not the questions she was expecting. 

“Uhhh…my hair is less spikey the more female I feel, neutral is kind of in between the usual crazy mess and the softer spike.” She really didn't know how to explain it, it just was.

Shikamaru’s eyes clouded again, and it kind of confirmed for her that they did that when he was deep in thought or trying to put puzzle pieces together. 

“Hi, my name is Nara Shikamaru. I like cake, bad jokes and deer, I don't like when I can’t sleep or when people ignore a problem with an easy fix, my hobbies are cloud watching and playing shogi, I don't have a dream yet.” He introduced himself, it kind of confused Naruko as to why. 

The puzzled look on her face must have given her thoughts away. 

“I would like to meet you in every gender, if we can introduce ourselves when your gender changes I would really like that.” he explained to her, she was still lost but decided to humor him. 

“My name is Uzumaki Naruko. I like foxes, pranks, and fuinjutsu, I dislike people who can't tell a scroll apart from what it holds, my hobbies are singing, pranking and gardening, my dream is to, I don't have a dream.” Naruko returned his introduction. 

“Will you do that again when you are Naruto and Naru?” was his next question. 

She nodded at him again as she shifted into splits, stretching her inner thigh muscles, this one was always easier as a female so she made sure to hold it longer and push herself further. Watching the boy copy her movements she snorted at the pained look of his face. He turned to her, his face a little red. 

“Don't push too hard, this stretch always hurts, and more so for boys.” She told him softly and watched as he backed off a little and the pained look slid right off his features. 

“Will you help me with flexibility?” He questioned her. 

Naruko looked him over carefully, the boy hardly had his legs spread and when they were in the first stretch, she had her nose buried in her knees where he had barely been able to grab his feet. 

“Sure, you have to do them at home too, stretches aren't something you can only do once a week, they are daily things you need to add to your regular schedule.” Naruko agreed, she figured out that any ninja worth their weight needed to be flexible enough to bend and fold their way through wire webs. 

With a roll of her eyes at him she prompted him. “Ask away, if I don't want to answer I won't.”

“How do you know who your parents are?” his voice sounded hesitant to her, like he wasn't sure if he was really aloud to ask. 

As Naruko thought how to answer him she stood and bent backwards until her back made a wide arch. 

“You know I’m a Jinchūriki? You know what that means? And what I hold?” she questioned him and got a nod in return as he tried to copy her.

Shikamaru lost his balance and fell over, she laughed under her breath as she stood back up properly, she held her hand out to him to get him back on his feet. When he grabbed her hand she pulled him up and waved her hand to get him to start the stretch again, this time she helped balance him watching his face for pain. 

“I met the Kyūbi when I was really young, I was close to death and I found myself in the seal, Kyūbi really isn't that bad. If people took the time to understand things that are different there wouldn't be so much hate in the world. The Night I was born someone attacked my mother and pulled Kyūbi out of her, she would have died right away if it weren't for the fact she is a Uzumaki. The Kyūbi is like any other living being, they have weaknesses and a man in a mask exploited the Kyūbi’s.” she stopped talking, and pulled him out of the stretch. 

Moving away from him again she dropped back onto the ground crossing her legs and looking into the forest. 

“It took the Kyūbi and I a long time to get past a lot of things, but when we did Kyūbi shared a lot of things with me, told me about my parents, about the night I was born, about the Uzumaki clan, Kyūbi still tells me things, thousands of years of knowledge, things lost in time. Kyūbi is who told me about my parents, no one else wanted too, I was always told that my parents didn’t want me, that I was a monster and that was why I had none.” Naruko didn't notice the tears that were spilling down her cheeks and startled when she felt arms around her ribs, Shikamaru was hugging her. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't hold it back very long...
> 
> soooo here you go... now I'm going to go run and hide for a little. 
> 
> Enjoy!!!!

It was nearing five in the evening when Shikamaru excused himself from Naruko's Spartan training, he was covered in sweat and dirt from the almost eight hours solid of physical training. He was exhausted but oddly happy, Naruko had coached him through an impressive amount of stretches before coaxing him into practicing his kata with her before they engaged each other in a taijutsu match. Naruto had won very quickly before she started mimicking his kata and then improved upon them in ways he had never thought of before. Shikamaru was convinced that Naruko was a genius in her own right. 

His walk home felt like it took him hours, he was tired and could feel sleep pulling on his bones. He ended up meeting his father at the gate onto the clan compound, the look the older man gave him he found comical, it looked like a mix between surprised and proud. 

“Tou-san.” Was his short greeting, even as he continued his slow walk, his father following him. 

“Shikamaru, what? I mean...why? Or maybe who?” Shikaku stumbled over his words as his brain was trying to puzzle things out too quickly for him to speak. 

“Ahhh, Naruko-chan is brilliant, she kicked my ass all day.” Shikamaru was pretty sure he had a love struck look on his face by the tone of his voice. 

“Naruko-chan?” His father raised an eyebrow at him, his expression slipping into something much more confused. 

Shikamaru shrugged, “I’ll tell you later, I had a lot of questions, and only a few answered today, and they might be things you should know.” 

Parting from one another after entering their home, Shikamaru went to take a shower and change, Shikaku went to the kitchen to greet his wife. Shikamaru’s shower was longer than he usually took, but he couldn't be blamed really, the hot water hitting his shoulders and upper back was glorious. He also wanted a little longer to pull some of his thoughts together and pick over what he wanted to share about his time with Naruko.

Once he was all clean and dressed again Shikamaru joined his father back downstairs, the older man had set up a game of shoji, and as Shikamaru sat himself at the low table across from the man, he moved the first piece. Shikamaru noticed that there was no music playing in the kitchen and realized that his father must have warned his mother about his fixation and that he had seen them today. 

“Naruko?” Shikaku asked again, and moved a piece. 

Shikamaru grunted, “Uzumaki Naruto, Naruko, or Naru, depending on the gender their brain registers them on any day. She said that because the Kyūbi has no real set gender it transferred over to her a little, because the Bijū was sealed about an hour after birth and that they are more closely entwined in many things than anyone could have predicted.” 

Shikamaru watched as his fathers face paled, and took mercy on the man by trying to explain about the Bijū in the way Naruko did. 

“Naruko said that when she was really little she was almost dead and she met the Kyūbi, that it took them awhile to start being on speaking terms, but when they were Kyūbi told her about the night she was born, Kyūbi was forced out of her mother by a masked man and then controlled, I believe her. The way she spoke it was like she had the memories of Kyūbi.” 

That didn't seem to help his fathers complexion, so he just focused on playing, and waiting for his father to sort out the information he had given.

“Do you honestly think it is safe?” The question was hesitant.

“Yes.” Shikamaru believed Naruko completely. 

“Ahhh, troublesome.” Shikaku muttered, and moved a piece into check. 

Shikamaru snorted, and countered his fathers move. He was so lost in thought that he completely missed how his father was studying him, it was contemplative and calculating. 

“Will your fixation cause your emotions to rule you on missions?” The question startled Shikamaru. 

“Eh? No, Naruko would never allow that to happen anyway, she is very focused and far too smart to allow me to put myself in a compromising position. We spared today, after she won the first match she had me go through my kata again and copied me. Then we had a second match and she used only the stances I showed her, she won that match too.” Shikamaru paused and made his next move. “Checkmate.” 

Shikaku stared at the board, he had never seen his son think like that. The moves were so out of the norm he had never noticed that he had lost most of his higher level pieces, leaving him with only pawns, queen, and his king. 

“Anyway, after the second match, Naruko showed me some modifications she personally would make into my kata, she made it more fluid, less unnecessary movements, I had never thought that it was something that could be done with the Nara taijutsu, but Naruko doesn't think like most people. It could be because Kyūbi teaches her things, like battle tactics from war’s it had been part of millions of years ago. I would like to be able to learn from it, just imagine all the things it knows.” Shikamaru admitted. 

“Dinner!” Shikamaru heard his mother call from the kitchen, standing and leaving his father behind studying the board and going over the game again and again trying to find the way he had been distracted enough to lose the game. 

\------------------------------------------------------

After dinner Shikaku challenged Shikamaru to another game of shoji, he wanted a chance to better observe the moves his son was making, Yoshino has decided to sit with them as she worked on word puzzles.

Shikamaru made the first move, before he started speaking. 

"Can I invite Natuko over for dinner tomorrow? I plan on going to train with her again tomorrow." 

"I will not allow that monster into my home." Yoshino snapped from where she was sitting behind Shikamaru. 

Shikaku's face paled when his son's eyes darkened, warm chocolate brown turned into dark cold onyx. His son's head tipped until his chin hit his chest and the shadows around him came to life, writhing around like tentacles. Shikaku was dazed, confused, and more than a little scared. 

" _ What did you say."  _ The question came out as a threat, a dark growl that Yoshino somehow missed. 

"That the demon will not be welcome here." 

Shikaku tried to dive and shield his wife, but the second he twitched a shadow had wrapped around him so tightly he couldn't move, could hardly breathe, ' _ Shit shit shit!' _ ran through his mind on repeat getting louder as it went. 

He watched in complete horror as Shikamaru stood and turned slowly to face his mother that was pinned much like he was. 

"Naruko is  _ not _ a monster. If anything you are." Shikamaru spoke in almost a whisper, but he knew they were listening. 

"Uzumaki Naruko is an amazing and brilliant _human_ , who was _sacrificed_ by her own _father,_ who is hurt every day and never retaliates except for _harmless_ pranks _._ _You_ on the other hand are verbally abusive, _you_ are thoughtless, _you_ are lazy. If Naruko is a monster or a demon _I_ am the devil." 

It didn't take long before Yoshino started to cry, refusing to look at Shikamaru, but the shadows forced her head to face him when she had turned it.

Shikamaru sent a look over his shoulder at his father, the shadows holding both adults squeezing in warning before he stepped into one of the darker ones and disappeared. 

"Stupid woman." Shikaku said, getting up and walking away from his crying wife. 


	10. Chapter 10

It was close to midnight when Naruko heard tapping on her window. Confused but trusting her seals to protect her if whoever it was had ill intent she forced the window open. Nothing was there. Huffing she went to close the window and nearly shrieked at the hand that was coming out of the shadow under her window sill. Stumbling back Naruko watched as the hand curled around the sill, followed by another, then a head and torso. 

"Shikamaru! What the fuck?" She asked, heart pounding. 

"Troublesome, something happened at home can I stay the night?" Shikamaru answered her, his voice was rough like he had been yelling.

Naruko didn't bother with a verbal answer, she just grabbed him by the hands from where he sat in the window and pulled him in the rest of the way carefully. She started checking him over for any injury, hands running over his arms and chest, then they cupped his jaw and tilted his head down so she could check his face. 

"You don't have to tell me, I won't ask." She told him, not really wanting to know. 

Naruko startled when she felt Shikamaru slip his arms around her and pulled her into a crushing hug. With her face pressed against his peck she felt a flash of irritation over her height before it was washed away with embarrassment when she noticed how nice the boy smelt, like moss and thunderstorms. Flushing she gave in and leaned against the still developing body, wrapping her own arms around him in return after a few moments of shifting. 

"Let's go to bed, I'm sleepy." Naruko suggested as she started to shuffle towards her futon. 

Not able to see where she was going, Naruko jumped in mild fright when she stepped on Kurama's tail and he yelped loudly. 

"The fuck kit? I was sleeping." The Bijū complained. 

Shikamaru jerked Naruko away, spinning until she was behind him. 

"Oi shadow boy, calm down. It is I Kyūbi no Kitsune, you may bask in my presence." Kurama tried to calm the boy using his usual arrogance. 

Naruko couldn't help it, she started giggling her face pressed into Shikamaru's shoulder blade, her own shoulder shaking. Feeling as all the tension drained out of Shikamaru, she shifted to his side and grabbed his hand to tug him to the futon. 

When both were finally comfortable Kurama made himself comfortable as well spread out at the foot of the futon already purring as he fell back asleep. It wasn't long before both preteens followed him. 

\-----------------------------------------------

Naruko woke slowly, first her brain sluggishly noted that she was warm, much warmer than she usually was, and snuggled into the heat source. 

"Morn-ning" a male voice yawned from above and behind her, one arm was wrapped around her waist the other acting as her pillow. 

Naruko shuffled a little further back into Shikamaru’s chest and grumbled a little, wanting to go back to sleep, she didn't feel up to even want to get up for training, she was comfortable and felt far too relaxed. 

Kurama growled lowly and nipped at her toes. “Stop moving, runt.” 

Naruko wiggled her toes in the Kitsune’s muzzle, she felt more than heard Shikamaru groan from behind her. She didn't notice when the fox decided to make his way up to where their heads rested until she felt his cold nose bump into her own. Her head jerked back a little and she felt it impact with Shikamaru’s shoulder and chest, making him groan again. 

“Shadow boy,” the Bijū started, “Did you enjoy basking in my greatness?” 

“Hush, I want to sleep more.” Shikamaru replied, making Naruko laugh until the Kitsune bit her nose. 

“Rama-chan!!” she whined, if she had had her eye’s open the Bijū would have backed away at the mischievous glint that sparked. 

Naruko's arms shot out faster than the Bijū could track, her hands gripping his middle, and she pulled him right into her chest and she rolled to face Shikamaru, pinning Kurama between them, making the ‘mighty’ fox yelp in surprise. With the size the Bijū used when he was in the apartment it made it difficult for him to get free from the girl's hold without hurting her. 

“Sleeeeeeeeeep.” Shikamaru groaned as he pushed his face into Naruko’s pillow that he had stolen sometime during the night. 

Naruko shook with silent laughter at the boy who had suddenly forced his way into her life. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad to allow him to stay. 

"Up, Shika, we need to at least do out stretches." She prompted him, sitting up herself with Kurama still held in her arms.

When all the boy did was groan into the pillow again Naruko huffed and started to poke him cheek, hoping to annoy the boy enough that he would get out of bed. When it did nothing more than make him roll onto his front and completely hide his face. Naruko couldn't help herself and dropped Kurama on the back of Shikamaru's head with a laugh. 

Getting up herself she moved into the bathroom to complete her morning rituals. It was somewhere between brushing their teeth and washing their face that Naru felt the shift in their gender. Sighing at the feeling of their skin shifting Naru dropped their head forward toothbrush sticking out from in between their lips. 

A quiet knock on their door alerted them to Shikamaru probably needing to use the restroom. Naru sighed, they were still a little afraid that they would be rejected, no matter what the Nara claimed about their fixation Naru didn't believe it would survive their weirdness. 

After quickly rinsing their mouth Naru opened the door and shifted uneasily before slipping themself past the boy. Keeping their head down, Naru made their way to the tiny kitchen to make tea and some toast for breakfast, praying that Shikamaru wouldn't notice the difference from yesterday and earlier to now. 

"Okay there Naru?" They heard Kurama ask from the futon. 

Nodding in reply they kept themself busy, knowing that if they didnt do something they would start to overthink and probably run before Shikamaru could reject them. Hearing the bathroom door open the sighed again and tried to harden their heart against the harsh words they were sure were going to assault them soon. 

"My name is Uzumaki Naru. I like foxes, fuinjutsu, and cooking; I dislike most people; my hobbies are gardening, cloud or star gazing, and reading; I don't have a dream." Naru didn't look up as they spoke. 

Feeling gentile fingers under their chin trying to tip their head back to look at Shikamaru Naru had to fight the tears they could feel burning their eyes. They gave in easily to the silent demand and met warm dark eyes. 

"Nice to meet you Naru, let's go cloud watching today instead of training." Shikamaru suggested, his voice calm and accepting. 

Naru didn't even really register what they were doing until they made contact with Shikamaru's chest, tears spilling out of their eyes. Naru held onto the boy tightly, not wanting to let go, not even if the world was ending around them, they had never been accepted so easily. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... This chapter and the next made me cry...like big ugly crying...it hit a little close to home. 
> 
> When I was a teen most people liked me cause I was a weird...but there was this one guy...who well just accepted me for all of me...Sargent.L.W. 
> 
> And we lost contact after he dated my sister...but...I try every year to get back that contact...and I fail every year....
> 
> Ahhhhh none of you care...go read...I'm gonna go back to well writing and crying I guess

Shikamaru noticed a shift in Naruko’s body language the moment the girl opened the bathroom door to let him use the facilities, he had no idea what it could be as the girl slid past him, her head tipped down and her jaw clenched. It was as he was washing his hands that he was hit with the realization like lightning, her hair had less of its smooth look and was a little more chaotic than it had been the day before. He just wasn't sure if it was Naru or Naruto that had left the bathroom. 

Leaving the bathroom he saw his lovely blonde fixation standing in the kitchen, head down and shoulders tense. 

"My name is Uzumaki Naru. I like foxes, fuinjutsu, and cooking; I dislike most people; my hobbies are gardening, cloud or star gazing, and reading; I don't have a dream." Naru introduced themself just like they had agreed upon the day before.

Shikamaru was kinda shocked at the difference that the Uzumaki was showing in personality, but he discarded that as he reached out and put two fingers under Naru’s chin to make them look at him, being gentle but insistent. When the clear ice blue met his own eyes Shikamaru felt a little thrill run down his spine. 

"Nice to meet you Naru, let's go cloud watching today instead of training." Shikamaru suggested, he tried his best to soothe the fear in Naru’s eyes. 

When Naru threw themself at him he was extremely surprised because even if he did he had no reason to brace for impact, Naru was small in more than just height, they didn’t weigh much either. When all that happened was an almost bone crushing hug Shikamaru only returned it. He didn't understand what the problem had been, he would figure it out later, but he was more than happy to know he had fixed it without knowing the root of the issue. 

Not even thinking it over Shikamaru scooped the crying Naru up in a princess carry and walked back over to the futon, changing the hold by making Naru wrap their legs around his waist he dropped them onto the futon and laid back with Naru on his chest, forcing the blonde to shift again and straddle his hips, he rubbed his hand up and down Naru’s back hoping that it was calming. 

“Maybe before we go cloud watching we can sleep some more.” Shikamaru voiced his thoughts, not really expecting a reply from the crying blonde.

Not even a half hour later Naru had cried themself to sleep, the soft uneven breaths tickling Shikamaru's neck was the only indication that the blonde was still working through whatever emotion had caused the crying. 

“Good job shadow boy.” Jolting Shikamaru back to full awareness, he turned to look at the source and blinked lazily at the Bijū.

“Ahhhh, thanks?” he wasn't sure if that was supposed to be real praise or if it was sarcastic.

“Really, Shadow boy. Good job, Naru no matter the gender has always been rejected, so you just accepting the change was a huge relief to them, I was the only being who had never straight out rejected the kit.” The Bijū explained.

“Just dont fuck up, or you will have the most powerful Bijū pissed off at you and out for revenge.” The Kitsune bared his teeth. 

Shikamaru nodded, he knew this deep down, and he had no want to ever fuck up with Naru. They meant everything to him. 

“Naru explained the other day that you were the reason at base for the gender changes, are you like them and your fur changes with gender? Do you use different names as well? What should I call you? Would you allow me to know your name? Will you tell me about your past? Will you help me with strategy? ” Shikamaru asked, he was very curious, and he didn't really notice he was just pelting the Kitsune with questions. 

He finally noticed the Bijū blinking in him, his eyes showing his amusement. 

“The fur that is currently black changes, white for female, black for male, and red for neutral, my name is always the same, you may call me Kyūbi for now, I will share my name and past with you after you have proven yourself worthy, yes I will teach you strategy, I will teach you other things if you so desire and prove a good enough student Shadow boy.” Kyūbi answered him all at once, making Shikamaru take a moment to process it and match the answers to his questions. 

“Thank you Kyūbi-sama. I will try my best…..Ano, my name is Nara Shikamaru.” He was excited to learn from such a being, and felt the need to tell the Bijū his name, it didn't seem like he knew it. 

Kyūbi snorted at him, “I know your name Shadow boy, be happy I’m calling you that other than what I call most other disgusting flesh bags.” 

Shikamaru just shrugged, what could he say against the Bijū, nothing that's what. Shikamaru withheld any smartass remarks he could think of and relaxed again, hoping to drop off into sleep again as well. 

\----------------------------------------------------

It was noon when Shikamaru was woken again, this time by a squirming body and sunlight hitting his eyes. He groaned and rolled himself and Naru over, pinning the 

blonde under himself. 

"Troublesome." He muttered, shoving his face into blonde hair. 

"Ano...Shikamaru?" Naru questioned. 

"Ahhhh not you, the sun." He explained. 

Naru groaned and muttered. "I figured, but you're heavy, get off." 

Shikamaru pouted as he rolled off the blonde, he had been comfortable. Maybe that was something to explore, sleeping positions and cuddling positions did sound rather important to him. Shikamaru watched as Naru got up and headed to the tiny kitchen once again. 

"Hungry?" Naru questioned him.

"Sure. I'll make tea if you cook." He suggested, getting off the futon. 

The kitchen was very small Shikamaru noted as the two pretty much danced around each other to do their self assigned tasks. Lunch was not a grand affair, just a simple mild curry, but to Shikamaru it was amazing. Eating himself almost sick he leaned back in his chair and rubbed his stomach. 

"Ugh, ate too much." He complained, pouting at a snickering Naru. 

Staying where he was seated, Shikamaru watched Naru as they put away the leftover food and put the dishes in the sink to soak. 

"So," Naru started, then fidgeted a little, sighed and started again. "So, you wanted to cloud watch, do you still want to?" 

Grinning Shikamaru nodded, he loved cloud watching. 

  
  
  



	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh, Merry whatever holiday you celebrate. 
> 
> I personally celebrate Christmas, so merry Christmas, I got the best new Pajama set last night, Penguins!
> 
> anywho, enjoy....if you have any good Deer or Fox jokes please share, I LOVE bad jokes!!

"Ahhhh it's troublesome but do you have anything I can wear?" Shikamaru asked.

Naru blinked, eyes going a little foggy before they turned from him and to a closet that he hadn't noticed before. 

"Ano, you are bigger than me so I only have some hand-me-downs from Iruka-sensei." Naru said as they dug through the closet. 

"Maa, anything is fine. I just don't want to go home yet." Shikamaru admitted. 

Naru didn’t question his desire to not go home and for that Shikamaru loved them just a little more. He took the clothes from Naru’s hands and headed to the bathroom to change, wanting to give Naru privacy, he figured that if no one accepted Naru in a general way that the other could be either body shy, or really just unused to having another in their space. 

Slipping into the old style of black chunin pants and a basic green tee-shirt Shikamaru was actually surprised to find that other than being way to long in the legs and torso they fit fairly well, he wondered about that, it wasn't like he had put on weight really, all the extra calories he was put into his body he was working off, and usually muscle didn't build that fast. Shrugging he pushed it from his mind, he had cloud watching to do with Naru. 

Dropping his night clothes on the futon he took in what Naru was wearing, a pair of black pants that looked like they were designed for females with how they clung to their hips, and a basic green tee-shirt that almost matched his, other than the white spiral stitched into the shoulder. 

“Lead the way, I only usually cloud watch from the roof.” Naru said and pointed up above their heads. 

Shikamaru didn't think he just grabbed Naru’s hand and tugged them along behind him. Walking through the streets Shikamaru started to get more and more tense with all the horrible whispered words that the civilians were throwing around along with their glares. He had noticed that Naru had tensed a little when he had moved towards the market to take the shortest route to his favorite hill in the Nara forest for their outing. 

When a rock went sailing through the air, he hadn't thought much of it, that is until it made impact with Naru’s head making the skin at their hairline split. Across the walk way there was a man, he looked to be in his mid twenties, greasy black hair pushed back into a pompadour, wearing dirty, stained clothes, he was laughing and pointing. 

“I hit the demon! Whoo! Drinks on me.” 

Shikamaru stopped, his entire body ridged. Everything came into sharp focus like it had the night before. And suddenly every shadow within one hundred feet around him and Naru struck. Each shadow grabbed one of the people in the area, wrapping around their throats and holding them off the ground. Shikamaru had pulled Naru into his chest and held the back of their head, pressing their face into the shirt he was wearing. 

“You people are the demons.” he hissed as his shadows split, all picking up stones of their own. 

“This is the one and only warning to the citizens of this disgusting village, hurt Naru, speak ill of Naru, destroy Nau’s things, I will find out and return the harm ten fold, Naru is under the protection of the Nara. DO NOT FUCK WITH ME!” he roared the last five words as his shadows all released the stones they were holding, each stone meeting the same spot Naru was struck. 

Not even thinking much he stepped back into his own shadow with Naru, it was like a cold splash of water to the face, but with just a thought they were suddenly stepping right out of another shadow provided by a tree and into his favorite clearing. Dropping onto his ass, Shikamaru just held Naru closer. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry, I didn’t know, I’m sorry.” he whispered frantically into Naru’s hair, finally registering the wet spots on the fabric of his shirt. 

Naru shuddered in his hold and went still, making Shikamaru panic a little, he really wasn't proud of his next actions. 

"What do you call a deer with an explosive tag wrapped around it? Bombi." He paused for a moment and then started rambling off all the deer jokes he could think of. 

"Did you hear about the mad scientist who made deer-plant hybrids? He said he wanted to introduce some variety to the local Fawn-a."

"A baby deer has been hanging around my house lately, I've become very Fawn of it."

"Why did the deer cross the road? To prove it wasn't a chicken."

Shikamaru noticed Naru was shaking against him and panicked a little more. 

"My cousin dressed up as a baby deer, everyone fawns over her."

"What do you call a doe stuck in a storm? A rain-deer." 

"Did you know adult deer don't like melted cheese? But their Fawn-do" 

"Have you noticed all the deer breaking into places? They've gone Buck wild." 

Hearing Naru snort and laugh, Shikamaru finally felt his mind calm a little from his panic. Finally stopping with his deer puns and jokes he noticed that Naru had been laughing as quietly as possible, probably enjoying the jokes as much as he himself did. 

"Troublesome." He sighed into the blonde hair. 

"Usually I'm not all the Fawn-ed of deer jokes." He finished off with and he laid back, Naru on top of him again. 

"Thanks Shika." Naru quietly said into his shirt. 

"Anything for you Naru. Well almost anything, I won't let you hurt yourself, but if it doesn't cause you harm...anything."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do love you guys, I have been hitting blocked every couple chapters but when I get reviews its like I', suddenly struck with inspiration and I get a chapter typed out in like an hour or two, so really the fast as fuck updates are cause of your love.

Naru had been greatly amused by the jokes that Shikamaru had spilled like word vomit, they had worked hard to not laugh too loudly and make the boy stop telling them. 

"Thanks Shika." Naru quietly said into his shirt once the boy had stopped.

"Anything for you Naru. Well almost anything, I won't let you hurt yourself, but if it doesn't cause you harm...anything." Hearing that made Naru's heart soar. 

"I'm just glad you had zero fox to give." 

Under them Naru felt Shikamaru twitch, then burst into mad cackles. They liked Shikamaru's laugh, it was rich and light. Pushing themself up, Naru looked at the crazy person that had latched onto them, and given them more acceptance than any other human and grinned a little. 

"Oh for fox sake Shika-" Naru wasn't allowed to finish as Shikamaru covered their mouth with his hands. 

"Please, no more." The brunet begged. 

Naru nodded and shrugged their shoulders before they rolled off Shikamaru to lay next to him, sweeping the area with a pulse of chakra and their eyes Naru froze much like a startled deer, much to their amusement when that thought crossed their mind. The area they were in was somewhere they had never been, and they were surrounded by deer, the only conclusion Naru could come up with was they were in the Nara forest. 

"Don't worry about them Naru, they won't attack if you're with me." Shikamaru broke him out of the shock. 

"Ano, they won't mind the fox?" Naru asked hesitantly. 

"Eh? No, Nara deer are smarter than most animals, almost like summons. We can introduce you to the alpha doe and buck later, but for now clouds." The Nara declared and pointed to the sky, every line of his body relaxed. 

Naru followed Shikamaru's example and relaxed as well. It was a beautiful day, the sky was full of white fluffy clouds of every shape and size. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------

Many hours and a nap later Naru was woken up again but this time it was by a very large deer nuzzling into their stomach, staying as still as humanly possible Naru watched as the doe they assumed by the lack of antlers settled onto their stomach again and stopped moving. Feeling a little freaked out by what had just happened they turned their head to look as Shikamaru and almost yelped when they first met the eyes of a buck. 

The intelligence shining in the brown eyes made Naru feel very intimidated as well as very inadequate, holding the deers gaze Naru flopped their hand and smacked Shikamaru in the arm. 

“Shika, Shika, wake up, please” they whispered urgently.

Shikamaru groaned but opened his eyes, when he tried to sit up he was stopped by the weight of the bucks head. 

“Shika….what?” Naru was kinda scared and very very confused, they didn't know what to do, most animals don't like them very much. 

Naru watched as Shikmaru turned his head to look at them from the corner of their eyes, not really paying much attention as they were still locked in a stare off with the buck using the boy as a pillow. Naru paid no attention to Shikamaru as the very very big buck sighed as if it was disappointed. 

“Troublesome. Naru, meet the alpha deer.” Shikamaru introduced the animals like they couldn't kill them without much effort. 

“Ano, ano, hello?” Naru was hesitant to even speak.

The doe did nothing more than turn her head and nuzzle her nose into Naru’s cheek, the buck stuck out his tongue and licked Naru’s hand, and Naru just kind of stopped functioning. Shikamaru must have noticed them blanking on what was going on and reached to grab their hand. 

“Up.” They heard Shikamaru command from beside them. 

With their hand being led by Shikmaru’s after the buck moved his head from using Shikamaru as a pillow, their hand was suddenly on the crown of the does head, petting its short fur, the doe let out a odd groaning growl and her head got heavier on Naru’s stomach like she had been holding the weight off of them because she wasn't sure of her welcome. 

“This is the clearing that the herd usually sleeps in, when I come I usually get used like a pillow, but I don't mind too much, they keep me warm on cooler days.” Shikmaru explained as he kept guiding Naru’s hand over the doe’s head. 

“But it is a sign that it’s getting late, and even if I don't want to I do need to be at home tonight, let me walk you home, we can take the back way through the forest, then the less used pathways.” 

Naru nodded in agreement, they knew that they would get lost getting out of the forest, and were deeply appreciative of Shikamaru offering to walk them home. 

  
  
  
  
  



	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a very very short chapter, sorry.

As promised Shikamaru dropped Naru off outside of their apartment building before turning around and making his way back to the clan compound, he honestly hadn’t expected the alpha deer to treat Naru as they treated him, but the deer were greatly aware of everything that was around them, in some ways they were smarter than humans, and some days he preferred their company to humans. 

Arriving at the door to his home he paused filled with uncertainty, he didn't know how he would honestly react if his mother started bad mouthing Naru again. Part of him was sorry for what had happened, a different part of him was still raging. 

His mother married a Nara, she knew how they could get. She had been told he fixated on Naru. She should have known better. A growl ripped itself out of his throat as he suppressed the left over feelings of rage. 

Pushing the door open he slipped into the house on almost silent feet, he had not learned yet to walk without sound, but he would figure it out sooner than later. It was in the living room that he finally met another, his father was sitting on his favorite chair drinking what smelled like coffee. Eyeing his father Shikamaru waited to see if the man would say anything. 

“Your mother was not born Nara, she will never truly understand, I did not love her when we married. It was arranged, with a cousin clan, the Naka. They do not have our intelligence, or the fixation. You will never be punished for protecting what is yours, but I do ask, that next time you do not restrain me with shadows.” Shikaku spoke, holding Shikamaru’s eyes. 

Shikamaru nodded. “I will try, I promise nothing.” 

“Troublesome.” His dad sighed. “What did you do all day?”

“Ahhh, I met and spoke with Kyūbi-sama, napped, and took Naru into the forest where the alpha deer used us as pillows.” All of this was said nonchalantly, and Shikamaru enjoyed that his fathers eyes almost popped from his head after hearing about Kyūbi. 

“What?” Shikaku’s voice was faint.

“What part are you having trouble with?” Shikmaru asked, walking further into the room and taking a seat on the sofa. 

“Alpha deer and Kyūbi.” Shikaku’s voice had yet to regain any strength. 

“Ahhh, I took Naru to the clearing on the hill, where the deer usually sleep, we cloud watched and fell asleep, Naru woke to the alpha doe on their stomach, the buck on mine.” He explained the easy part first. 

Shikaku nodded, he was still stunned, usually the deer don't like anyone but the Nara, usually they attacked first and well didn’t ask questions after. 

“So, after, well what happened here, I shadow stepped to Naru’s place, and they ended up stepping on a fox that was laying on the floor. The fox grumbled and growled at them, then this morning they played a little before Naruko became Naru, and they had a panic attack I think or something like an emotional breakdown, and Kyūbi-sama and I spoke for a little.” Shikamaru felt like he was rambling.

Shikaku was still staring at him like he had lost his damned mind, but he hadn’t. Leaning back into the sofa, Shikamaru shrugged his shoulder, he knew damn well he had spoken to one of the strongest Bijū, he knew damn well that he could have been a blood smear on Naru’s wall if they had not been telling the truth about Kyūbi not willingly attacking Konoha. 

“Ahhhh, what did Kyūbi-sama say?” His father interrupted his thoughts. 

“He told me how to identify his gender, and agreed to help teach me strategies, and anything else I want if I am a good student.” Shikamaru was proud he had gotten the Kyūbi to agree, though it hadn't been hard. 

“I see.” His fathers voice was still faint, and his skin was still a little pale. 

“Maaa, he may agree to teach you as well, I could ask.” Shikamaru suggested, figuring that maybe having his father talk to Kyūbi himself would calm his fear a little. 

Shikaku just nodded, not really paying any attention to what Shikamaru was offering. 

“Good, I’ll ask Naru at school tomorrow. Good night Tou-san” Shikamaru dismissed himself and headed off to his own bed. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------


End file.
